LOCAL GAMES / Ambitious Dons Top Green Bay, Climb to 11-1

Gary Swan, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, January 4, 2000

Maybe it's time the college basketball world started taking the Dons seriously. USF won its 11th in a row last night, drubbing visiting Wisconsin-Green Bay 75-48 in a game that was typical of USF's stellar play in the past month.

The Dons are beating teams that they should beat and doing it with plenty to spare. They now have their longest winning streak since the 29 in a row that had them ranked No. 1 in 1976-77.

For the moment they are "others receiving votes" in the national polls, but with the non-conference schedule in its final week and the first West Coast Conference game at formerly ranked Gonzaga on January 13, the Dons could jump into the spotlight. Especially if Gonzaga continues to struggle, as it has in losing three of its past four.

Usually dour coach Philip Mathews was smiling, and even applauding on the bench.

"The offensive execution in the first six and seven minutes of both halves was the best it's been all year," Mathews said. "We have the ability to do that, to make quick runs like that. We also got our freshmen (John Cox, 15 points; Shammel Stallworth, 10 points) some playing time. That's important if we're going to be in contention for the WCC title."

USF has rebuilt this season with seven new players, including bulwark center Kenyon Jones, whose 17.7 average is the best in the WCC. The athletic 6-foot-10 Jones, who scored 16 points last night, does most of his damage at the post, but last night he showed an outside shot as well.

"I've been working on that one," he said.

The Dons drove the lead as high as 35 points, 62-27, with 8:09 left, but there were a few nits to pick, especially a six-minute scoreless drought late in the first half.

Mathews said the half-court styled favored by Green Bay, especially with two of its best players injured, lulled his team to sleep.

But Mathews preaches defense first, and the visiting Phoenix (7-7) had only eight points in those six minutes and could only come within seven of the Dons.

With only a home game against Boise State on Friday night to finish non-conference play, USF tops the WCC in scoring (75.3), scoring margin (15.1), rebounding margin (10.1), field-goal percentage (47.3) and field-goal defense (36.5).

"We've played well defensively in these 11 games, and our offense really started to come along tonight," Mathews said.

Mathews thinks enough progress has been made since the opening- game loss to Maryland that the Dons can be considered WCC contenders, along with Gonzaga, Pepperdine and Santa Clara. While USF is 11-1, none of those teams has fewer than five losses.

The players are thinking large as well. "If we don't win the league, I'll be really disappointed," said guard Ali Thomas, whose four assists topped the team total of 16. He said the goal is to "win the league title and get an automatic bid to the (NCAA) tournament."

"We have a lot of growing to do, but we're making progress in every game," Jones said. "I think we have a chance to be special." SPARTANS BEAT NOTRE DAME: Kevin Blunt scored a season-high 21 points and had 12 rebounds as San Jose State defeated College of Notre Dame 71-64. Cory Powell, a former junior college All-American who suited up for his first game with the Spartans, added 13 points as San Jose State (8-6) snapped a two-game losing streak. Billy Landram had 11.

Eric Kinnaird scored 15 points to lead the Argonauts (9-2), who have lost two of their past three after opening the season with eight wins.

The Spartans were without three of their players. Eric Griffin and Ben Sanders were suspended indefinitely after being arrested in San Francisco on New Year's Eve. The team did not say what their purported offense was. Guard Brett Lilly missed the game due to mononucleosis.